"Thompson Is For Real"
"In just three weeks, Fred Thompson has transformed the contest for the Republican presidential nomination..."
Robert Novak has the latest.
An important addendum to Novak's article is that, after leaving the Senate, Thompson served as the "shepherd" guiding and supporting John Roberts through the Senate confirmation process.
On the other side of the coin, John Dickerson of Slate isn't quite so sure about Senator Thompson.
And while we're on the subject of Senator Thompson, what was James Dobson thinking recently, telling a reporter "I don't think he's [Thompson] a Christian," without any basis in fact? Dobson said the reporter mischaracterized his comments -- which is easy to believe, given the unreliability of many in the mainstream media -- and that he'd also said to the reporter that "Sen. Thompson hadn't clearly communicated his religious faith." But Dobson reportedly made the unsolicited call to the reporter specifically to discuss the subject of Thompson's faith, which seems rather odd. (As does, for that matter, Dobson's spokesman saying that they use the term "Christian" only when referring to evangelical Christians.) Does Dobson have some sort of personal animus toward Thompson?
Christians publicly discuss their faith to varying degrees, depending in part on the place and the circumstances. By way of example, I am a Christian, which I have mentioned here in passing from time to time, and I try to conduct my blog in what I hope is a Christian manner. (I may fall short from time to time!) But I do not use this blog to directly evangelize. Other bloggers are quite different and have overtly Christian blogs which are wonderful tools for evangelism and ministry.
The Reverend Dobson and I share many of the same views, but who is Dobson to judge, at this juncture, whether Senator Thompson has spoken of his faith in public to what Dobson considers a sufficient degree for a politician?
I think it would have been much more appropriate for the Rev. Dobson to ask to discuss the subject directly with Senator Thompson before calling up a reporter to criticize how Thompson communicates his religious faith.
It might possibly have been, ahem, the Christian thing to do.
Monday Update: Many thanks to Robin for providing this link in the comments clarifying that James Dobson is not an ordained minister. Thus the reference to him as "The Reverend" above is inaccurate.
posted by Laura @ 9:16 PM
7 Comments:
The link didn't show up, can you repost it? If I should refer to him by another term I'd like the record to be correct.
Thanks much!
Laura
lyLaura,
Good post. I read the Novak piece and have been daily scouring and regularly reading anything by or about Thompson. I'm all for him and hope he announces.
Re Dobson, it is possible the MSM misquoted or took his statements out of context, however, it is all too familiar to see those of faith in the public arena make edicts and judgements for their followers to heed instead of trusting that even Christians are smart enough to do their own research and make their own decisions. Arrogance and hubris is never becoming and less so from the so-called faithful.
I was annoyed to see the interview with Dobson, and to hear his person opinions represented as the 'Christian' way to think. No. I don't think so. Because I figure that is why God was gracious enough to give me my own brain which is quite capable of thinking through matters, researching candidates and choosing whom I feel is the best candidate.
Thanks so much for the link with the correction, Robin, I have posted it on the main page.
As I mentioned in the post, it's very easy to believe that the media could have misrepresented something, but the overall circumstances still seem strange to me. Perhaps Dr. Dobson will go on the Hannity show or elsewhere and further clarify, if necessary. I value your input as someone who regularly listens to Dobson.
I do remain perplexed by what seems to me to be an oddly gratuitous statement by Dobson, particularly given that Thompson has consistently voted pro-life and pro-family, as Dobson himself notes. Has Thompson done anything negative that would cause Dobson to believe he's not a Christian, particularly compared to other politicians? (I don't know a great deal myself yet about Thompson, but I'm sure going to be reading up!) On the other hand, if Dobson is looking for overt statements regarding Thompson's faith, how much is enough? Does Thompson need to give his testimony on the Capitol steps? Just kidding there :) :), but what exactly is Dobson looking for?
If you have further thoughts on this issue, please feel free to add them, they are always appreciated!
TTYS,
Laura
Robin B,
Please know I don't mean to be provoking or acerbic when I say this but your quote,
"He was saying that he didn't think he was a Christian because nothing had given him the impression that Thompson was a Christian. I don't think he was judging the man's spiritual condition..."
...by default, would make it apparent that yes, Dobson was indeed making a judgement on Fred Thompson's spiritual condition. And yes, although he is indeed a psychologist he has over the years inserted himself into the political arena through the activities and endorsements of his Family Council and his own endorsements of candidates. I don't think there is anything wrong with that, necessarily, as he is a citizen and he is free to do that, it just becomes something more when he 'speaks' for Christians (and there are hundreds of thousands of Christians who do indeed follow his lead)....
At this point in time, I think it behooves Christians to look at a bigger picture. While of course the abortion stance remains the deal breaker, there are certainly other crisis threatening the very freedoms this country holds dear. The middle east theater, the influx of Islam into everyday America, terrorism, etc., that make me feel, yes, I want someone whose values I concur with but I also want someone who has the mettle to tell a menacing enemy, 'No' and then has the courage to take action.
This kind of judgmental talk is exactly what distresses and even alienates some people about intensely Christian people. Kindness, generosity and acceptance of one's brothers and sisters are fundamental tenets of Christianity. So how does anyone who identifies him- or her-self as Christian think there is any acceptable way to assess someone else's "degree" of faith? Agree or disagree with points of view, sure, but label each other as "Christian enough" - no way.
Many thanks, Robin, for adding that link from Dr. Dobson's organization to the conversation.
I have to honestly profess, though, that I didn't really find the clarification satisfactory and my initial reaction stands. Dr. Dobson knows his words carry *great* weight with many people, and his incautious remarks, speculating without basis on Senator Thompson's religious faith and whether he had "clearly communicated" same (again, what kind of record was Dr. Dobson looking for, compared to other politicians?), strike me as carrying unnecessary destructive potential. I feel it would have been far better for Dr. Dobson to remain silent until he was fully apprised of the facts, qualifiers to the reporter or not. I would add that Dr. Dobson is extremely media-savvy and knows well the potential for shading reporting of his remarks.
I hope I'm not being unfair to Dr. Dobson -- after all, here I am judging *him*! (grin) -- but even knowing his qualifiers, I simply feel that in this instance Dr. Dobson showed a lack of wisdom, particularly as this candidate is a man who obviously shares many values Dr. Dobson holds dear.
I think Senator Thompson handled the matter with dignity and frankly I would have felt better if it were stated that Dr. Dobson apologized to the Senator for speaking out of turn.
I'd like to add a related angle, though, that on the other hand asking a candidate *directly* about his religious views -- or actually examining a candidate's past public record, if such exists, on same -- I feel, at least to some extent, is legitimate inquiry so that voters may assess all sides of a candidate, including whether a candidate's religious views harbor "the possibility of guiding his or her actions in a way I would disapprove of" and whether an individual voter feels a candidate shows wisdom in his choice of religion. (I don't know that Dr. Dobson and I are expecting the same kinds of things from a politician's public communications, however -- there is a time and a place, and it may well be it just never appropriately came up in a candidate's prior career.) Along these lines, as an example, I think it entirely appropriate for voters to judge whether a Muslim candidate would have the best interests of this nation at heart. And so on.
I wrote something along these lines in a post a few weeks ago:
http://laurasmiscmusings.blogspot.com/2007/02/that-mormon-question.html
That is a very thorny issue much in the media, but that's where I'm currently "at" on that topic. Others may well disagree.
This is all JMHO, of course! :) Sorry for being so long-winded (grin).
Laura
Well said, Laura. There is no guarantee that the 'Christian' candidate will be smart, saavy, fearless, deliberate and wise - just as there is no guarante the non-Christian or Muslim or Mormon would be unprincipled, ruthless, weak, or an idiot. The proof is in the pudding. Its prudent to find out one's historical voting record, speeches, writings, etc., to base a voting opinionon.
If Dobson is a Christian (as he claims) and he judged Fred Thompson publicly, possibly doing harm to his reputation, then the honorable thing would be for Dobson to apologize, not privately but publicly. That would evidence a Christian behavior. And that would give more credence to his claims of himself being a Christian. IOW, if someone is going to make a judgement on another's spiritual standing, especially publicly, one better example it himself.
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